Steel wool pad holder



June 7, 1949. I I s,' u w 2,472,403

STEEL WOOL PAD HOLDER Filed Jan. 22, 1947 'INVENTOR.

SOLOMON BURWEN FIG. 3 BY 'g ww-g ATTORNEY Patented June 7, 1949 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE STEEL WOOL PAD HOLDER Lynn, Mass.

Application January 22, 1947, Serial No. 723,518

3 Claims. 1

The present invention relates to a holder for holding steel wool pads and the like generally used for scrubbing pots, pans, and cooking utensils.

One of the objections against the use of steel wool for this purpose is that the sharp ends and slivers of the steel wool tend to dig into the fingers and hands, remaining in the hands as splinters, thus causing soreness and infection. This difficulty with steel wool is greatly increased when the hands become soft through water and soaps, thus making it comparatively easy for the small steel fragments to penetrate the skin.

Various means have been used to overcome this objection, as for instance placing the steel wool in a mesh bag or using as a substitute for it a pad of other metals formed of chained surfaces. These expediences, however, make it difiicult to keep the steel wool in continued direct contact with the surfaces as they are being cleaned and therefore do not permit the greatest benefit to be derived from the steel wool, particularly in the cleansing of aluminum surfaces in which the direct contact of aluminum and steel aids materially in the cleansing process because of the affinity of the metals for each other.

In the present invention, the applicant has devised a holder particularly designed to hold the loose pad of steel wool in such a way that it may be rubbed directly over the surface to be cleansed without coming away from the holder.

In the present invention, the holder also acts as a bearing surface for the main portion of the steel wool pad and permits the user to apply considerable rubbing force by pressure of the holder against the pad and the surface to be cleansed. It also may be readily used against hot surfaces which the hand could not stand. The application of the pad to the cleansing surface is accomplished without the necessity of either holding the pad in the hand and without direct contact between the pad and the hand in the cleaning action. The pad is held in such a way by the holder that the user is able to clean in practically any place that could be cleaned without the holder. A further advantage of the present invention is that the holder prolongs the life and utility of the pad and makes it possible for the pad to be maintained in a cleaner condition while in use.

Referring to the drawings, the holder com prises a base member I, a cover member 2, and a clamping screw 3 for holding the base member and cover together. The base member is preferably elongated in form and of rectangular shape with upturned flanges 4 and 5 at the sides of the base and a centrally located projecting stud 6 formed as an integral part of the base and projecting upward into the cover. The base member I is preferably flat at the ends with no flange. The centrally projecting stud member may be hollow, of cylindrical form, with the opening I through it extending through the base member l to its outer surface. Two projecting pins 8 and 9 may be formed integrally both with the base and joined with the projecting stud. These are positioned in the central plane perpendicular to the base which extends diametrically through the stud 6 which may be of cylindrical form. The cover member is formed with a top H) and four sides, ll, l2, l3, and I4, whose wall height may be the same, providing along the side edges clamping surfaces I5 and 16, whose whole thickness is substantially the same as the thickness of the upturned side flanges 4 and 5. At the center of the cover, formed as an integral part of the cover 6, is a Well I! which is formed to receive in a sliding fit the cylindrical stud 6 and its adjacent projecting pins 8 and 9. This well is located and positioned so that the base and cover are aligned together when the flanges 4 and 5 are opposite side wall edges l5 and IS. The Well is hollow as has been set forth and centrally located therein is a hole I8 which extends through the cover to the top surface. The well is reinforced by side webs l9 and 20 extending transversely across the cover. The cover is provided with a thumb screw 2| which is threaded and engages the threaded portion of the cylindrical stud 6 by means of which the cover and base may be clamped together.

Figures 1, 2, and 3 show a steel wool pad in position. The pad which may be rectangular in shape is laid under the surface of the base I with the sides folded over the flanges 4 and 5 towards the center stud or post 6. The cover is then placed over the base so that the well engages the stud or post and thereupon the screw 2| is inserted and tightened as desired, to clamp the steel wool pad in place. This is done with the fingers, and the base and cover need not be brought so tightly together that their surfaces touch. In fact, the clamping screw is easily tightened or loosened to hold the pad quite freely as desired.

Without further describing the merits and ad'- vantages of the present invention, I claim:

1. A steel wool pad holder comprising a base and a cover, both elements being rectangular in section and the cover having side walls forming a box open at the bottom, the base having inwardly projecting flanges whose ends serve as a clamping surface with the wall edges of said cover, said base having a centrally positioned hollow post with aligning ribs on either side in the center line of said base, the cover member having a wall generally coextensive with said side walls forming a well, shaped to receive the post with sections formed also to receive said ribs for aligning the cover and base together and a clamping screw passing through the face of the cover and threading into said hollow post for clamping the cover and base together.

;-2.A- steel wool pad holder comprising a base and a cover, both elements being rectangular in section and the cover having side walls forming a box open at the bottom, the base having inwardly projecting flanges whose ends serve as a clamping surface with the wall edges of said cover, said base having a centrally positioned hollow post with aligning ribs on either side in the center line of said base, the cover member having a well, shaped to receive the post with sections formed also to receive said ribs for aligning the cover and base together and a clamping screw passing through the face of the cover and threading into said hollow post for clamping the cover and .base together, said well being reinforced by transversely extending walls extending to the side walls of the cover.

.3. A steel wool pad holder comprising a base with upwardly projecting flanges at the sides forming apair of clamping edges, a cover having four sidewalls the .edges of two sides of which form a pair of clamping surfaces adapted to engage said first mentioned pair, and a clamping screw adapted to-be inserted through a hole in the cover, means forming a well Within the cover around the position of the screw hole, said clamping screw threading said steel wool pad in place, said base having a centrally positioned post with an aligning rib at one side thereof adapted to engage within saidwell in the cover for placing the edges of 'the pairs of clamping surfaces of the cover and those of the base in position opposed oneto theothen,

. SOLOMON BURWEN.

Number Name Date 296,397 Elsey a Apr. 8, 1884 1,118,546 'Goodwin Nov. 24, 1914 

